James Hagens Returns to USA's Lineup, Lukas Reichel Scores Three Goals For Germany in Worlds
On Saturday, 12 teams took the ice across six games to keep the preliminary round going in the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
In the first game of the day, Team Latvia defeated Team USA 4-2. Although no Bruins recorded a point in the contest, all three on Team USA played.
Forward James Hagens returned to Team USA’s lineup after missing Wednesday’s game against Germany which the USA won 4-3. On Saturday, Hagens was on the ice for 14:09 and played center on the second line alongside Alex Steeves who was at left wing. Defenseman Mason Lohrei was on the first line.
Lohrei was on the ice for 15:59 and Steeves played for 13:19.
In Group B’s morning game, Team Denmark beat Team Slovenia 4-0.
Following the early morning games, Team Switzerland defeated Team Hungary 9-0 in Group A and Team Czechia topped Team Slovakia 3-2 in Group B. Bruins forward Matěj Blümel is on Czechia’s roster and played for 14:39 without recording a point.
In the last set of games for the day, Team Germany picked up a 6-2 win over Team Austria in Group A.
Bruins forward Lukas Reichel led the charge for Germany and scored three of the team’s goals. The first came at 3:28 of the second period and the remaining two came in the third, one at 5:47 and the other at 11:45.
Reichel also recorded an assist on a second period goal by Joshua Samanski at 13:07.
For Group B, Team Norway defeated Team Sweden 3-2. There are no Bruins on either roster.
Sunday’s schedule features eight teams in four games.
In Group A, Team Great Britain will take on Team Latvia at 10:20 a.m. ET and Team Finland will take on Team Austria at 2:20 p.m.
Group B will have Team Denmark playing Team Italy at 10:20 a.m. and Team Slovakia squaring off against Team Canada at 2:20 p.m.
The slate will have three Bruins on the ice. Goalie Joonas Korpisalo and defenseman Henri Jokiharju are both on Team Finland while forward Fraser Minten is on Team Canada.
The preliminary round of the tournament continues until Tuesday. The quarterfinals will take place on Thursday and the semifinals will be next Saturday. The bronze and gold medal games will be held on Sunday, May 31.
Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram for the latest Boston Bruins news.
Kim Rankin is one of the lead writers for Boston Bruins on SI and Boston College On SI. A 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama. she joined Alabama Crimson Tide On SI in February 2024 covering baseball, softball, football, men’s basketball, and more for BamaCentral, but has also contributed to Missouri Tigers On SI. She previously worked as the brand manager at Tide 100.9 FM in Tuscaloosa, Ala. She has covered a wide variety of events including SEC Championships, NCAA Regionals, and bowl games.